Canadian legal system
Since Nick Knight is a detective and Forever Knight a cop show set in Canada, the Canadian legal system is integral to the background of the series. The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law in Canada. It is an amalgam of codified acts (statute law) and uncodified traditions and conventions (common law). The core parts are found in the Constitution Act, 1867 (more usually known by its original name, the British North America Act), which outlines the system of government. The Constitution also includes the Constitution Act, 1982, which contains the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which is an entrenched bill of rights. The Canadian legal system has its foundation in the British common law system. Lower courts must follow the decisions of higher courts by which they are bound. (For instance, all Ontario lower courts are bound by the decisions of the Ontario Court of Appeal.) The Supreme Court of Canada has authority to bind all courts in the country with a single ruling. Law Criminal Law It is criminal law in Canada that is most obviously relevant to Forever Knight, since Nick Knight is a Homicide detective with the Metropolitan Police in Toronto. In Canada, criminal law is federal law. Americans sometimes are surprised to learn that even minor crimes are handled under federal law in Canada. Criminal law is laid out in the Criminal Code, which is applicable uniformly throughout the entire country. Provinces cannot enact criminal legislation. The provinces are responsible for the administration of the courts, including criminal courts. However, even though there are provincial criminal courts, this should not be confused with provincial criminal laws. Provinces do have the power to regulate offences in a variety of areas; and every province has enacted myriad rules and regulations. However, these are not governed by the Criminal Code, and it is not proper to refer to such offences as "crimes". Civil Law Civil laws can be made at either the federal or provincial levels of government. Civil law covers disputes between two or more interested parties—which includes individuals, corporations, and government. Parties will seek remedies from the court when there are disputes over contracts, torts, and property. Civil law also covers matters referred to labour boards, human rights tribunals, and workers' compensation appeal tribunals. Municipal law is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the provincial legislatures, and varies from province to province. Law in Quebec For historical reasons, Quebec has a hybrid legal system. Private law follows the civil law tradition originally expressed in the Coutume de Paris as it applied in what was then New France. Today, the jus commune of Quebec is codified in the Civil Code of Quebec. On the other hand, public law (including criminal law) is based on common law, just as it is as in the rest of Canada. Adapted from the Wikipedia article on the Law of Canada Courts .]] The court system of Canada is made up of many courts differing in levels of legal superiority. However, the provinces have jurisdiction over the administration of justice in their territory. Almost all cases, whether criminal or civil, start in provincial courts, although they may eventually be appealed to higher level courts. Levels of Courts Very generally speaking, Canada's court system is a four-level hierarchy. Each court is bound by the rulings of the courts above them; however, they are not bound by their own past rulings or the rulings of other courts at the same level in the hierarchy. At the bottom are the provincial inferior courts (often simply called "provincial courts"); above them are the provincial superior courts; above them are the provincial appeal courts; and above them is the Supreme Court of Canada. Provincial Courts Each province and territory in Canada has an "inferior" or "lower" trial court to hear certain types of cases. In criminal cases, this depends on the seriousness of the offence. These courts are created by provincial statute and only have the jurisdiction granted by statute. Many inferior courts have specialized functions, such as hearing only youth matters, family law matters, small claims matters, "quasi-criminal" offences (i.e., violations of provincial statutes), or bylaw infractions. Judges in these courts are appointed by the province. Superior Courts The superior courts have multiple functions. They hear * divorce petitions, * civil lawsuits involving claims greater than small claims, such as litigation over contracts, and * criminal prosecutions for indictable offences ("felonies" in US legal terminology), which includes all criminal cases that are tried before a judge and a jury. They are also the appeal courts for judgments made by provincial courts or government entities such as labour boards, human rights tribunals and licensing authorities. Judges in superior courts are appointed by the federal government. However, the courts are still administered and paid for by the provinces. The most serious criminal matters, such as murder, go immediately to the superior court level. As a Homicide detective, therefore, Nick Knight gives evidence in the Ontario Court of Justice (General Division). (Today, this is known as the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.) We see Nick give evidence in the episode "False Witness". Courts of Appeal Courts of appeal (or appellate courts) review decisions made by the superior-level courts and deliver a judicial opinion when requested by a provincial government. They do not normally conduct trials and hear witnesses. So few cases are referred to the Supreme Court that, in a very practical sense, the Court of Appeal is the last avenue of appeal for most people. If a case in which Nick had been involved were to go to appeal, it would be heard in the Ontario Court of Appeal. Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeal in the Canadian justice system. The court consists of nine justices, one of whom is the Chief Justice of Canada. Its principal duty is to hear appeals of decisions from the appellate courts. On occasion, it is asked to give an opinion on constitutional questions raised by the federal government. By law, three of the nine justices are appointed from Quebec because Quebec civil law is based on different principles from that in the rest of Canada. Decorum in Court Courtroom custom is largely based upon the British tradition, with a few modifications. Dress In superior courts, both judges and lawyers wear black robes and white neck tabs, like barristers in the United Kingdom. However, they do not wear wigs. Gavels In Canada, judges do not use gavels. Instead, a judge raises his or her voice (or stands up if necessary) to restore order in the courtroom. Modes of Address * Judges of the Ontario Superior Courts are referred to as "Mister/Madam Justice surname". * A lawyer advocating in court typically uses "I" when referring to him or herself. The word "we" is not used, even if the lawyer is referring to him/herself and his/her client as a group. * The judge in court refers to a lawyer as "counsel" (not "counsellor"), or simply "Mr./Ms. surname". * In court, it is customary for opposing counsel to refer to one another as "my friend", or sometimes (usually in the case of Queen's Counsel) "my learned friend". * In any criminal law case, the prosecuting party is "the Crown" while the criminally prosecuted person is called the "accused" (not the "defendant"). * In Ontario, the prosecuting lawyer is called the "Crown attorney", and is customarily addressed and referred to as "Mr Crown" or "Madam Crown." Names of Court Cases The "versus" or "v." in the name of Canadian court cases is often pronounced "and" (instead of "vee", "versus", or "against"). For example, Roncarelli v. Duplessis is pronounced "Roncarelli and Duplessis". Conducting the Case * There are no so-called "sidebars" where lawyers from both sides "approach the bench" in order to have a quiet and discreet conversation with the judge while court is in session. , the accused sat with counsel table with his lawyer.]] * Evidence and documents are not passed directly to the judge, but instead passed to the judge through the court clerk. The clerk, referred to as "Mister/Madam Clerk", also wears a robe and sits in front of the judge and faces the lawyers. * The accused in a criminal trial sits in the prisoner's box. In the Ontario Superior Court this is in the middle of the courtroom, surrounded by a partition that is surmounted by glass to about shoulder height. Counsel tables are set in front of the prisoner's box. In some areas, however, the accused may sit at counsel table with his/her lawyer (as in "False Witness"). Adapted from the Wikipedia article on the Court system of Canada Category:Canada